Proverbs 26:1-24

1Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.

2Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!

4Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.

5Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

6Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.

7Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

8Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.

9Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

11As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

12Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.

13A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

14As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.

15A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

16A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.

17Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

18Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death

19is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

20Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.

21As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

22The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.

23Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent Hebrew; Septuagint smooth lips with an evil heart.

24Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.